Beyond the obvious fact that he doesn’t seem to have a nervous bone in his body, John Oda might be the most unintimidating guy to sky to the upper reaches of Hawaii golf.
In the past eight months, the Moanalua High School sophomore has become the youngest finalist in the 103-year history of the Manoa Cup and qualified for the Sony Open in Hawaii.
In a wild final round at the Hawaii Pearl Open on Sunday, it was Oda and Korean pro Jun Won Park who finally broke away from a group of contenders that numbered in double digits until the final two holes.
Oda, 15, would have been Pearl’s youngest champion, but lost to Park on the second playoff hole. On the first, Park hit a brilliant approach shot to eight feet that Oda nervelessly matched. After Oda put his birdie putt in the heart of the hole, Park drained his.
It was as fascinating as five years ago, when 16-year-old Tadd Fujikawa — fresh off a top-20 finish at Sony — stuck his approach on the final hole to within a foot to become the last golfer from Hawaii to win at Pearl.
Like Fujikawa, Oda is a Menehune, literally and figuratively. But while the 5-foot-1 Fujikawa thrives in the spotlight, the 5-6, 140-pound Oda is quiet and introspective. He is a grinder whose greatest weapon over the past year has been his remarkable composure.
His ego is never a problem.
"It’s been a pretty good year," Oda said in December after qualifying for Sony. "Always contending."
His perspective is refreshing.
"Golf is just a game," he said at Manoa Cup. "There is no reason to get nervous."
Even Saturday, when he pulled within three of the lead going into the final day, Oda was cool, calm and oblivious to anything resembling pressure.
"Honestly, I’m not worried about winning," he said sincerely. "Tomorrow I’ll just have a good time, play some golf."
In the final round, he made the turn at even par, then played the back nine in 4 under, blowing by a bunch of the best pros and amateurs in Hawaii, Japan and Korea by eagling the 17th.
After bogeying the 13th Friday, Oda was a bogey-free 12 under on the back nine the rest of the week.
He hangs out at Pearl almost every day, part of a talented group of young golfers who practice so much that PCC gives them "frequent flyer" discounts on buckets of balls. Seungjae Maeng and Jared Flores, Oda’s teammates on a Moanalua team that finished two shots behind Punahou at last year’s state championship, are there. So are Kyosuke Hara and Shawn Lu, a couple of eighth-graders who could be Menehunes next year.
It is not a Moanalua monopoly. Lorens Chan (‘Iolani), who is headed to UCLA on a golf scholarship in the fall, works with PCC director of golf David Ishii. Richard Hattori (Kalani) and Donny Hopoi (Kamehameha) are also part of Pearl’s inner ball-whacking junior circle, among others.
But it is the quiet Oda who has made the most noise lately.
"John works on his game and is very consistent about what he does," said Ishii, who sometimes helps Oda and is just as understated. "His thing is not power. He’s getting longer now because he’s getting bigger, but when he started at 9 he was not too long. Now he’s getting power so he’s playing his game and being consistent. He knows what he can do and what he can’t.
"I don’t talk too much with him. I tell him figure out your way to play golf, that’s the best way. If you figure it out on your own it’s better."
